Posts by Jenny Geelen

I’m thrilled to announce that the new artificial eye clinic has just been officially opened in Timor by the President Jose′ Ramos-Horta. I remember back in February 2008 I was about to fly out to Timor-Leste to start this clinic when President Jose′ Ramos-Horta was shot in an assassination attempt. It was a devastating time and thankfully…

Sometimes it’s easy to think that the emotional impact of eye loss is mostly to do with the person who has lost their eye. In the case of children, it’s the parents who have to deal with the big adjustments and emotions. I think there can also be an assumption that if an adult loses…

We get a lot of questions about bionic eye technology and where the research is up to. The short answer is that it is still very early days. There are at least fourteen separate visual prosthesis projects operating around the world.  Most are in their early stages of development. Here is an overview of what…

We’ve recently come across an interesting website that sells custom made jewellery for people with vision impairment. The website showcases the work of artist and jewellery designer, Kelly Fehr. Kelly made her first piece of braille jewellery for her niece Emily who is blind. Kelly then realised there were probably a lot more people out…

We often hear people say, “The surgeon told me that he couldn’t save my eye.  I can’t remember anything he said after that.” It’s such a shame that at the very moment people need comforting information they’re often too emotional to take it in. This was the reason we decided to produce a book. Our…

I’ve recently attended a conference on Ocular Trauma where Dimitri Yellachich spoke about Trauma on the Battlefield. During the Crimean war eye injuries made up 0.6% of total injuries.  Back in those days the battles were fought at close range.  Soldiers wore a lot of protective gear. In the Iraq war eye injuries made up 13% of…